


Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

by tmltml71



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-02
Updated: 2012-08-02
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmltml71/pseuds/tmltml71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reunited years after their split, Clarissa and Zach are reunited. Will they go their Separate Ways once and for all?</p><p>Title credit goes to Journey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Of all of the places he could be, a chairity event in St. Paul Minnesota wasn't high up on Zach Parise's list. He was't physically drained like some of his teammates. Actually because of a knee injury that kept him sidelined for most of the season, he was pretty fresh. The sting of missing the playoffs wasn't what had him wishing he was on his couch with a beer in his hand and a boxing match on the TV.

He stood in line with the other men, who were to be auctioned off to the stuffy rich women in the crowd, who wanted nothing more than to buy their daughter a date with a man that could get them places in society. He took a sip of his whiskey and put the now empty glass on the tray of the nearest waiter.

"Up next is Mr. Zach Parise. Zach was born right in here Minnesota. He plays professional hockey, is the captain for the New Jersey Devils and is an Olympic silver medalist." The woman who was the auctioneer said as Zach walked up on the stage. "Let's start the bidding at five thousand dollars," the auctioneer said.

Before the auctioneer could even get the dollar amount out, a pink piece of paper with the number nine rose out of the crowd. "Number nine how fitting. Do we have fifty-two-fifty?" Another number went up.

"Six thousand!" another said as they raised their number twenty-two card up in the air.

"Sixty-five hundred!" Eighteen went up.

"Seven thousand!" That was thirty-two.

"Seven thousand-five hundred!"

"Wow! Seven thousand-five hundred dollars. Going once. Goin twi-"

"Fifteen thousand dollars!" an older woman probably in her mid fifties said, holding up her number nine card.

"Fifteen thousand. Going once. Going twice. Sold to number nine!" the auctioneer said.

Zach was surprised. Never once in his life did he think a person would pay for a date with him, and he sure as hell didn't expect that person to pay fifteen thousand dollars. He walked off of the stage and over to where number nine was sitting.

With a kind smile he introduced himself. "Hello ma'am. I'm Zach Parise."

"Hello Zach. I'm Madison Doyel. Please don't think ill of me, but I actually did this, so that my son's fiance could go on a date with you," she said.

Zach was confused. 'Is this some kind of joke? She paid for me to go out with her future daughter-in-law?'

"Oh, I see you don't understand. Let me explain. It's not that I don't love my fiture daughter-in-law. I love Clarissa as if she was my own child. She reminds me of myself, when I was younger, which is why I don't want her to marry my son. He's too much like his father, not right for her like my ex-husband wasn't right for me. She doesn't deserve that. I'm hoping by going on a date with you, she'll realize that she and my son don't belong together."

Zach remained silent. Clarissa. That was why he didn't want to be there in the first place. Some of the women's daughter would be nice, pretty, rich, but he didn't want any of that, well he did, sort of. He wanted his high school sweet heart, who he always compared every other girl to. None of them stacked up. He missed everything about her. He missed her tan skin, curly hair, her bell like laugh and smile that could light up a room.

Madison mistook his silence. "I'm not expecting you to fall in love, marry her and have children. I just want you to treat her right and show her there are other options."

"I completely understand," Zach said.


	2. Chapter 2

Clarissa rose in the black dress that Madison insisted she wore. "I don't see how this is necessary," she said, not wanting to be rude, but also not understanding why her future mother-in-law would force her to go on a date. "You already bought me a date, which is odd because I'm marrying your son, this outfit is just too much."

"Oh it makes you look like you just came off a runway in Milan or New York or something," Madison gushed, with obnoxious flourish.

"There's only two men who I will ever dress up for," Clarissa said.

"Two?" Madison questioned. She already knew the answer. One of her best friends and Clarissa's mother had informed her of Clarissa's former flame.

"I said one." Clarissa said.

"Honey, I may be getting old, and my senses may be going, but I know for a fact that you just said two."

"I- I- Did I say two?" 'It wouldn't be surprising,' Clarissa thought to herself. A brief flash of the other man she loved crossed her mind.

"Yes."

"I meant one."

"Honey, if you meant two it's okay. I understand. I had the same thoughts before I married Vince." Madison thought over her next words, not wanting to give Clarissa the wrong impression. "Don't do anything you're not sure of." The door rang and she went to go answer it.

Clarissa checker herself in the mirror once more, before following her future mother-in-law to the large foyer.

Madison was well off. She had a huge house and more money than she really needed. After finding out about her husband's affairs, she filed for divorce and got everything out of him that she could.

The minute Zach Parise's eyes landed on Clarissa, he paused mid sentence, causing the maid he was talking to to eye him questioningly. "Ris?" he asked. He couldn't believe it. It was his Ris, right there in front of him and engaged. His anger flared. That was supposed to be him. He was supposed to be the one that put a ring on her finger.

Hearing Zach use the nick name that only he could get away with using caused butterflies to erupt in Clarissa's stomach. All of the love and pain that she had been holding back hit her like a tidal wave. "Zach?"

Madison looked on with a satisfied smirk.

Clarissa flew down the stairs as fast as her pumps would take her. She hugged Zach with all of her strength. He hugged her back reveling in her proximity.

"So you two know each other?" Madison asked, although she already knew the answer.

"We're old friends," Clarissa answered.

"Yeah, old firnds," Zach agreed. Both were so much more than friends though.

"Well don't stay here on my account. Go out and enjoy your evening," Madison said.

The pair looked at each other, both looking for confirmation from the other and neither of them finding it.

"Well, I didn't spend fifteen grand for you two to stand here. Get out. Shoo!" She said ushering them out of the house.

They walked to the sleek black Mercedes that Zach drove.

"You've come a long way from the beat up Ford," Clarissa said.

"Well, I am making a little more money than I did before," Zach responded.

"A little?"

"A little."

She laughed and eased herself into the car. The ride to the restaurant was neither quiet nor awkward. It was filled with comfortable chatter and laughter at fond memories that seemed so distant.

They arrived at the fancy french restaurant.

"Not what I expected from you Mr. Hockey Star," Ris said.

"Things are't what they used to be, Ris," he said, shooting her a smile.

"I've noticed."

They walked in and were seated in a private booth in the back. It wasn't so secluded that they were completely isolated from everyone else, but it was private enough that Zach wouldn't be bothered every five minutes. The menus were placed in front of them.

"French?" She asked.

"Hey, my dad has French roots."

"Zach, your dad has Canadian roots. He was eating poutine, not whatever this gibberish is and since when has this been here? I mean no one around here that I know eats this stuff."

"Fine you win," he said raising his hands in surrender. "Taco Bell?"

"Now you're talking."

The pair got up and returned to the car.

"Crisis averted," she said.

"Yeah, I was expecting some rich, snobby chick, not you. You're low maitenance. That's one of the reasons that I like you," Zach said.

He didn't notice his use of the present tense, but Clarissa sure did. She kept it to herself. 'Engaged. Tom. Wedding,' she thought.

"So Zachy, is there a Mrs.Hockey Star back in Newark?" She teased. She expected a yes, but was silently hoping for a no. Even if she couldn't be his Ris any more, she still wanted him to be her Zach.

"No, only a roommate, but look at you. You're engaged."

Yeah, Tom."

Zach snorted.

"What?"

"Tom. You have a thing for guys with generic names."

"Don't start acting like Kelly," Clarissa groaned, thinking of the fights that she and her friend would get in over the topic.

"I see her point. Zach, Dave, Chris,Tom. She's going to kill me, since I got to see you and she didn't."

"You see her?"

"She works PR for the Rangers."

"How is she?"

"Good. She's married and has one on the way."

"Wow."

They pulled up to the drive thru. "Nacho bel grande, no beans, extra cheese and a side of rice?" he asked.

"I can't believe you remember that," she said.

"How could I forget? We were here like every day."

"Right after practice," she added. She thought of how many times they had done exactly that, get Taco Bell after one of Zach's practices. "We should go to a rink," she said.

"Which one?" Zach asked.

"Any one. Let's just get our food and go and eat there."

"It's Minnesota."

"We can find a rink."

The nearest rink was currently the location of a high school hockey game. The two paid walked in looking very out of place. They stayed in the very top row trying not to draw attention to themselves. While everyone else left, they stayed seated.

The zamboni came out onto the ice, turning the frosted surface into a glistening sheet of perfect ice. "It's always so pretty, how perfect the ice is," Clarissa said.

"Not as pretty as you," Zach said.

"I've missed you," Clarissa admitted.

Things were reaching a dangerous point and both of them knew it. Neither was afraid though. Zach and Clarissa had been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. Tying up loose ends had been on Clarissa's mind for a while. She had compared every man to Zach. Zach had a similar situation. The girls had dated were nice and the puck bunnies he had hooked up with not so nice, but it didn't matter because none of them were Clarissa.

"As much as I have tried to let go, I can't. I compare every man to you Zach, even my own fiance."

This stunned Zach. he was preparing to spill his guts to her not the other way around. He hadn't expected her to have the same feelings as him.

"I know exactly what you mean," he said. "I'm not going to lie. There's been a few dates, and I've had my fair share of puck bunnies, but none of them were ever you. They didn't smile like you. They couldn't make me laugh like you could. The did't make me happy like you did."

A single tear slid down her cheek. "Don't cry," Zach said, hugging her.

"I can't help it. I finally think I find some one good for me that can make me happy and you come back. Now all I want is to go back to the way things were, but I'm engaged and have a decent job. It's not like you could drop everythig in Jersey. It's-"

He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. She didn't fight it. It should've felt worng, dirty even, kissing another man, but it didn't in fact nothing could've felt more right to either of them.

They pulled apart. "Ris, I know you can't just give up what you have here for me. It didn't happened, when I was drafted and moved to Jersey, and I don't expect it to happen now. Just remember if he ever hurts you, I'll be there for you," he said.

Clarissa unable to take the heaviness and finality of the situation got up and ran. She went to the nearest bar, where Tom picked her up after recieving a call from the bartender a few hours later.

Zach stayed at the rink until he was kicked out. He returned to his home stripped out of his suit and put on a pair of basket ball shorts. He flopped onto his couch and turned on the TV, not really watching it. He went to bed that night and stared blankly at the ceiling like he would for many nights in the future.


End file.
